Oldest hat retailer in the United States contemplates future in changing Detroit

Henry the Hatter is bringing its iconic sign from its former Broadway Street location in downtown Detroit to its new space in Eastern Market.

In 1948, Seymour Wasserman took a train from New York City to Detroit and bought two hat stores. He soon after moved the family, much to his wife's chagrin.

That store, Henry the Hatter, had already been open since 1893. And it's still open today. In fact, it's the oldest hat retailer in the United States.

Paul Wasserman was just two years old when his dad bought Henry the Hatter. Today he's 70, and the current owner. "Dad passed away in '98, and worked pretty much until the day he died," says Wasserman.

Even though hats have, at various times, gone out of the mainstream, Wasserman says the store's character and brand recognition is one of the reasons he's been able to stay in business for so long. The iconic neon sign displaying the store's name, for example, has cost a lot of money to maintain over the years, but it's integral to the store's identity.

Wasserman was taught this lesson when he had an opportunity during the holiday season to buy cheaper, generic boxes to ship hats instead of the ones that have the store's name printed on the outside. "I never heard such an uproar," he says. "I realized that they didn't come to buy any hat, they came to buy a Henry the Hatter hat. I've never been without boxes that have our label since."

There haven't been too many changes to the store since moving to its current location on Broadway Street in 1952. "I jokingly tell people this is our new store," says Wasserman.

Wasserman declined to disclose the store's revenue, but said that new business and workers downtown have improved sales steadily after bottoming out in 2012. But he's not sure if he'll be able to keep up with rising downtown rents.

"I'm already worried," says Wasserman. "For all the good [Dan] Gilbert's done, if it has a dark side, that's it. Businesses like mine, if trends continue the way they are, will be thing of past. I'd like us to be here, but it ultimately won't be my choice." (Dan Gilbert does not own the building where Henry The Hatter is located. The building is owned by The Sterling Group of Detroit.)

Even if his store on Broadway closes, Wasserman insists he'd continue in Detroit at another location. "We're gonna be a Detroit business one way or another. … Being in business as long as I have, it's kind of like raising a child. You want to see it continue and go on and be successful."

This story has been updated to clarify the ownership of the building where Henry The Hatter is located. On June 30, Crain's reported that Henry The Hatter will close its doors at its current location on Aug. 5.